Winter Arts Guide: ROY G BIV's Justin Luna

Thursday

Jan 6, 2011 at 12:01 AMJan 6, 2011 at 7:57 PM

In some ways, Justin Luna's photography is instant and immediate.

In some ways, Justin Luna's photography is instant and immediate.

He carries a Diana plastic camera, documenting his life on strips of 120mm film. Shying away from digital photography's constant self-editing and general loss of candidness, Luna captures life as it happens, mistakes and all.

"You can just take one shot and be done with it," said Luna, ROY G BIV gallery's creative director, whose work will be included in the "Third Eye" exhibit at OSU Urban Arts Space this winter.

On the other hand, Luna's work is a painstaking exercise in delayed gratification. He likes not being able to see his photos right away. And he doesn't mind the tedious work of developing transparency film, which requires carefully mixing lots of smelly, messy, toxic chemicals.

At "Third Eye," he'll show 14 backlit transparent strips, each a panoramic slice of his own life. Seven selections are from his 2009 BFA show at Ohio State, for which he documented each day of his final undergraduate quarter on a separate strip - everything from the meaningful (graduation day, a friend's overdose) to the mundane ("taking a dump").

The other seven strips capture Luna's life since then, including collective portraits of friends at a party and relatives on Christmas.

Luna's approach is vulnerable to accidental shots, failed exposures and developing errors. He prefers to leave the mistakes in. He also likes the dreamy, soft-focus effect that comes from shooting with the Diana's plastic lens.

"It shows the vulnerability of my memory to rely on photography," Luna said.

During his two-year tenure as creative director at ROY G BIV, Luna has continued the gallery's focus on finding new ways to experience art beyond the traditional pedestal or frame. They've hosted everything from a live food fight to a "music festival aftermath" installation complete with stray garbage and the artist passed out in a tent.

So it's fitting that curator Ryan Walters asked Luna to contribute to "Third Eye," a photography show all about finding new ways to experience art and examine life. Frank Castanien, Pei Yin Chen, Evan Eisel, Chris Von Holle, Elina Khachaturyan, Cameron Sharp, Eric Sherwood, Clifton Stommel and Miles Tsang will also exhibit works.